Profile: It didn't take long for Goldschmidt to go from the eighth round of the 2009 draft to the Major Leagues -- just two calendar years and 315 minor league games. He mashed 83 homers and posted a .303 isolated sluggin percentage in his 1,387 bush league plate appearances before whacking eight homers (.223 ISO) in 48 second half games with the Diamondbacks. Goldschmidt is a classic three true outcomes type, a skill set that is slightly less valuable from a right-handed hitter who will be at the platoon disadvantage the majority of the time. Assuming the D'Backs won't let Lyle Overbay stand in his way, Goldschmidt is a safe bet to mash 20 homers -- maybe even 30 -- with the appropriate number of RBI and runs scored in 2012, though he might not be much help in the batting average department, at least not right away. Too many strikeouts right now. The 24-year-old is a fantastic late round player in deep leagues, but he'll need to put up big numbers to justify a regular lineup spot at first base on a fantasy team. (Mike Axisa)

The Quick Opinion: Unless the Diamondbacks foolishly let Lyle Overbay stand in his way, Goldschmidt will crank out 20+ homers and a healthy number of RBI in 2012. He will need to put up big numbers to justify a regular fantasy lineup spot at first base though, and he might not be capable of doing that just yet.

Profile: In 2012, Paul Goldschmidt showed that his brief surge in late 2011 was no fluke. Indeed, he actually made great strides in improving the most worrisome aspect of his 2011 game -- contact. Goldschmidt is probably never going to have a better-than-average strikeout rate, but his plate patience and power make that quite acceptable. He will only be 25 to start 2013, so his offensive game is still likely to improve in most relevant aspects. He is also in a home park congenial to his game. The batting average will probably come down, which will hurt, but a .270/.340/.470 line seems like a reasonable, and perhaps conservative projection for 2013, and is a good chance for more now and in the future. As far as power is concerned, 20 home runs should be no problem, and 30 or more is a possibility in 2013 and after. Goldschmidt might not yet be quite in the top tier of mixed-league first baseman, but he is definitely knocking on the door. Do not be afraid to bid significantly on him. (Matt Klaassen)

The Quick Opinion: Paul Goldschmidt showed that 2011 was no fluke with a 2012 performance that saw him improve his game in many respects. People are going to know about Goldschmidt, but given that he is at an age where there is probably still some upside remaining, do not be afraid to make a strong bid for his services.

Profile: Goldschmidt could not have had a better 2013. He stayed healthy and played in 160 games which led to fantastic counting numbers. And his rate stats spiked thanks primarily to a big improvement in plate discipline. His walk rate improved thank to a jump in intentional walks, but his strikeout rate improved because he swung less, particularly on balls outside the zone, and he made more contact. His biggest improvement came on breaking pitchers from right-handed hitters. This obviously bodes well for his future. It would be a stretch to imagine Goldy improving much on his most recent season, but there's no obvious signs that his success was fluky or in any way subject to major regression. He may not be a top five caliber fantasy player again, but there is little reason to think he'll fall too far below that mark. (Brett Talley)

The Quick Opinion: Goldschmidt was an elite fantasy option last year and paid off big time on his draft day price. The price will be much higher this year, but there's not much reason to think he won't be able to come close to justifying the price. His big roto numbers were backed up by marked improvements in his plate discipline. So while he won't be a major value this year, he is a safe, low downside early pick.

Profile: To some degree it's hard to be disappointed with Goldy's 2014 season given that he missed the final two months of the season and still finished among the top 12 first basemen. But had he remained healthy he was not on pace to repeat as the best fantasy first baseman. For starters, he was only on pace for 28 home runs a year after hitting 36, and he was on pace to steal a couple fewer bases, although 13 steals from a first baseman is still nice. His home run per fly rate was in line with his career rate as opposed to the inflated rate he had in 2013, so maybe 30 HR is a more reasonable expectation for Goldy as opposed to 35. His batting average going forward is also a concern even though he hit .300 again last year. The concern is that his contact rate slipped after he made some gains in the department in 2013, and his strikeout rate spiked back up to where it was in 2012. He maintained the .300+ batting average with the highest batting average on balls in play of his career. We're splitting hairs here, but 30 homers as opposed to 35 and .280 as opposed to .300 means we may be talking about a top five 1B as opposed to a top three 1B. The other concern is the hand injury he suffered in August. Hand injuries can be sap power, so there's a bit more risk with Goldy because of that. Paying for him probably won't kill you, but be careful not to pay too much. (Brett Talley)

The Quick Opinion: Goldschmidt missed the last two months of the season with an injury, but his season was a bit disappointing prior to that. He was on pace for right fewer home runs and two fewer steals from what he did in 2013. And he saw his strikeout rate rise, but it didn't affect his batting average thanks to a career high BABIP. He's still a stud, just maybe not a stud of studs.

Profile: A cursory perusal of the hitting leaderboards from 2013 to 2015 yields an easily identifiable pattern: Goldschmidt is in the top five of every meaningful offensive category, and in most of them, he's in the top three. His is the type of rare excellence that is soconsistent it has become almost normal to us; he hasn't shown weighted offense that was worse than 12% over league average in any month of a season since August of 2012, and he is one of three players with a hard-hit rate over 42% since 2013. He is as automatic as they come at the plate, and he actually managed to improve during the 2015 season, stealing a career-high 21 bases and posting a walk rate 3.1% higher than his previous best (2013). Expecting any higher level of offensive production out of a player like this would be ridiculous, but last season's plate discipline improvements show that might not be outside the realm of possibility. Apart from a hand fracture suffered by a hit by pitch in the second half of 2014, Goldschmidt has been healthy, playing in over 145 games three out of the past four years. There isn't much left to do but sit back and enjoy, knowing that we're watching one of the best players in baseball in his prime. (Owen Watson)

The Quick Opinion: Among hitters with a minimum of 1500 plate appearances, Goldschmidt has been the third-best player by weighted offensive production since the beginning of 2013. He's simply been one of the most consistent, reliable hitters in the game -- making him one of a select few players to truly build a fantasy team around. A 2015 walk rate increase was just icing on the cake, and he heads into 2016 as the top choice at first base.

Profile: For the first time in Goldschmidt’s career, he posted an isolated power below .200, but kept his fantasy value high with a career-best in stolen bases with 32. Since 2012 and excluding 2014 when he got hurt, Goldschmidt has stolen at least 15 bags. Again, excluding 2014, his SB numbers have increased since 2013. Even though he lost some value with his drop in home runs, he is still a fantasy monster posting high stats in the other four major categories. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a batting average or on-base percentage league: he is a top tier player. His home run to fly ball percentage was the second-worst of his career, which may explain some of the drop in his home run output. A 19% mark is only .7% less than his career rate, yet this was 3% lower than his 2015 mark (22%) when he hit 33 home runs. Add in the fact that his fly ball rate in general was much less than any of his other seasons and his infield fly rate was higher than any other season, he should be back on track for at least 30 home runs if he is able to normalize those numbers. (Paul Kastava)

The Quick Opinion: Goldschmidt saw his home run output drop, but was able to excel in all other categories, particularly in stolen bases where he put up a career-best. His fly ball rate went down and his infield fly rate went up, which veered far from his norm. Expect his power to normalize back to his past numbers, keeping him in the upper echelon of fantasy.

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